BOO! My First Halloween Card

Perhaps it should be WOO HOO instead because I'm very happy my camera is back in action. Have you noticed that it has become more common in Australia to observe Halloween? When I was a child, I don't think I even knew it existed or what it was about. But this year the "$2 shops" were full of things Halloween and in my bushy suburb of north west Sydney (Australia), kids were out trick-or-treating. This year I was slightly more prepared for the door knockers, last year they got sultanas.

Now, before you think this here Aussie country has gone the way of the Americans, did you know that Halloween originated in Europe? It has its origins in an ancient Celtic festival, known as Samhain (a word of Irish origin). Traditionally, the festival was a time used by the ancient Celtic pagans to take stock of supplies and slaughter livestock for winter stores. The Gaels believed that on October 31, now known as Halloween, the boundary between the living and the deceased dissolved, and the dead become dangerous for the living by causing problems such as sickness or damaged crops. Costumes and masks were worn at the festivals in an attempt to mimic the evil spirits or placate them (Source: Wikipedia). And something wonderful has come out of the modern day Halloween; it is estimated that children have collected more than USD119 million for UNICEF since the inception of "Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF".

But for me, Halloween represents another card making opportunity and I've been quite attracted by the images of owls, ghosts, cats, witches and the like. So last night, I had a play. Using Sharon Davies' card for colour inspiration (thanks Sharon) and a sketch challenge from Makeesha Byl:


The use of purple with the traditional orange and black really lifts the card in my view. I had fun making the scalloped circle edge by punching small black circles and adhering them to the back of the main image card stock. I originally intended to watercolour the ghost stamp but after a few attempts I wasn't satisfied that it was bright enough so I took the easy way out and stamped it on Lovely Lilac cardstock. I was desperate for wide black ribbon too, until I decided to put two strips of narrow black grosgrain together. Good enough.

Thanks for looking. Have a great week.

Love Crafty Kim